Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has expressed dismay over the continued exclusion of the state from the 13 per cent oil derivation fund, despite its official recognition as an oil-producing state by the Federal Government since 2022.
The governor made the call on Tuesday during a courtesy visit by the Indices and Disbursement Committee of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission at the Government House, Enugu.
In December 2022, the RMAFC formally listed Enugu as an oil-producing state following the recommendations of an Inter-agency Technical Committee, which identified oil production activities in the Anambra River Basin zones.
However, Governor Mbah noted that Enugu has yet to receive any derivation revenue from the oil wells located in the Anambra River Basin 1, 2, and 3 fields.
“We still have this pending issue of Enugu State being recognised as an oil-producing state, which your office actually communicated to us sometime in December 2022 based on the report of the Inter-agency Technical Committee. The committee recommended that Enugu should benefit from the 13 per cent derivation on the Anambra River Basin fields, yet we have not received anything to date,” Mbah stated.
He urged the commission to expedite necessary processes to ensure that the state begins to benefit from its constitutional entitlement.
Despite this, Mbah said his administration had significantly grown the state’s internally generated revenue, projecting over N500bn for 2025—a more than 400 per cent increase.
“This was achieved by deploying technology to block leakages and broaden our revenue base. We hope your indices will be updated to reflect this growth. From current projections, we are poised to exceed our N500bn IGR target for 2025,” the governor noted.
He also affirmed that all revenues allocated to local governments in the state are released in full, with the state government providing additional support for capital-intensive projects, in line with its commitment to transparency and accountability.
Speaking earlier, the leader of the RMAFC delegation and commissioner representing Kwara State, Mr. Ismaila Agaka, praised the Mbah administration for its judicious use of federal allocations and internally generated funds.
“Before we arrived, we thought some of the developments we had heard were just media hype. But after our inspection, we are impressed by the work being done. Illegal structures are disappearing, and the state is showing discipline and order,” Agaka said.
He specifically commended the administration’s Smart Schools initiative and the establishment of functional health centres across the state’s 260 wards, describing them as impactful and people-centered.
Agaka said the RMAFC team was in Enugu to review how federal allocations were disbursed and utilised by the state and its local governments.
He added that the team would investigate any irregularities or deductions and address discrepancies in the revenue-sharing indices to ensure fairness.
“The goal is to ensure accuracy and equity in the allocation process, as well as to resolve any issues causing zero allocations to local government councils, if such exist,” he stated.